Why Are TikTokers Saying 'Lettuce Water' Makes You Sleepy, When Scientists Say 'No?' The Food 'Hack' Explained

TikTok is no stranger to hosting various viral life hacks that usually range on the scale from harmless troll to genuinely ill-advised. How does "drinking lettuce water to make yourself sleepy" rank?

Why Do People Think Lettuce Water Is A Sleep Aid?

The idea began spreading thanks to a TikTok from user shapla_11 posted in 2021. In the video, she pours some hot water over some lettuce leaves. She updated her followers to say the trick helped her fall asleep in 30-40 minutes.

The video stirred debates at the time, as health and food blogs as well as national media publications posted their investigations into whether the "lettuce water hack" had any merit.

The idea comes from a 2017 study of lactucarium, a chemical with supposed sedative properties in the stalk of a lettuce leaf. The study found that when the chemical was given to mice as an extract, they were able to fall asleep more swiftly.

Does Lettuce Water Actually Work As A Sleep Aid?

Public opinion is divided — generally, scientists say no, while TikTok commenters testify that the hack has worked for them. As shapla_11's TikTok spread, Sleep.com talked to Dr. Marie-Pierre St-Onge, associate professor of nutritional medicine and director of the Sleep Center of Excellence at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. St-Onge was extremely dismissive of the idea that lettuce water could be a sleep aid.

St-Onge noted that the study was done on mice, not humans, and used lactucarium extract, not "lettuce water." The effects of lactucarium extract are much more powerful than what the process of creating "lettuce water" can produce, and even then, it would take "90 heads of romaine lettuce in order to produce the right amount for sedation for the average woman."

Speaking to the New York Times, Dr. Michelle Drerup, director of the behavioral sleep medicine program at the Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorders Center, said that the anecdotal testimonies from people claiming that lettuce water works come down to a "beautiful placebo effect."

Studies have shown that patients who take a placebo dose of something they believe to be a sleep aid will often report better sleep. This is because they've essentially tricked their mind to stop "trying" to fall asleep, and as many who've ever suffered a sleepless night can attest, "trying to fall asleep" is a great way to stay awake.

Is "Lettuce Water" Harfmul?

Ultimately, no, there are no adverse effects to trying to use lettuce water as a sleep aid. However, those trying it could run the risk of having their sleep interrupted by needing to pee a lot of lettuce water.

For more information on life hacks, check out the entry in the Know Your Meme encyclopedia.